Thread: How Close To The Plate Should A Batter Be??

SBFAMILY,
Any Carrier-Bustos clinics happening near Phila?

I use the bat across the plate method. I think that batters should be back a lot further, than most people think.

What is the math? The plate is 17 inches across. Does the box start 6 inches from the plate? Anyway, that would put your toes 23 inches from the outside of the plate. With a 32 inch bat and any tilt and lean at all, you would easily be putting the sweet spot of the bat at least 6 inches out of the strike zone.

My pitchers would know to throw hard inside. And if the batter is hanging over the strike zone and gets hit by a pitch, all it is is a strike.

Thanks everyone, I'm going to try what was suggested about laying the bat out. I've got a feeling it's going to end up being about where I've taught her to stand. Her team has moved up to 12u for the fall and they will be playing seasoned 12u teams that I'm sure won't mind pitching inside no matter how close to the plate you are, my dd definitely doesn't.

The biggest mistake I see most kids, and some coaches, make is that they hold their arms out in the Power V and base their position relative to the plate or tee on that. That of course puts them much too far off the plate. What I prefer is that they do at first is do the slow motion drill and get to the Power L position and make sure that the sweet spot of the bat is pretty much in the middle of the plate, with the end of the bat a couple of inches inside of the outer edge of the plate, at that point.

Originally Posted by quincy

The players I work with a lot smaller and use smaller bats so they are close to plate, so I do not have an opinion about how close little bit larger players should be to the plate.

From a rules point of view, the batter needs to be at least 6" from the plate.

In LL rules it's 4" for U10, for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by Amy in AZ.

I use the bat across the plate method.

I believe this demonstration was done in jest ... but I think it depicts what you are describing.

RH batter against a RH pitcher 6-8 inches....RH batter against LH pitcher 4-6 inches. The same applies for a LH batter against a RH pitcher.

The girl in the video is WAY too far from home plate....the bat barely covers the outside corner.

No. That isn't in jest. Several teams around here, tell their players to do it. I didn't originate it and I can't remember where I picked it up. Perhaps, it was at a college coach's conference 15 years ago. The funny thing is, this person (man or woman?) measures it out, but then moves back even further. It does very little good to hit w/o a batters box, though.

Watch a MLB game. No one toes the line. They are mostly in the middle of the box.

Amy,

I have never seen a MLB player that far from the plate ever.

Really? If this batter has any forward tilt at all, he or she is in a perfect position for most pitches.